A coalition of diverse Christian leaders working together to help hungry and poor people in the U.S. praised congressional negotiators for including key anti-poverty provisions in this week's spending and tax agreements.
The Circle of Protection had called on Congress to make previous improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit permanent. They declared the passage of a bill making that happen a "major victory" for low-income working families.
State officials in New York are reforming their policy of keeping people convicted of non-violent offenses in solitary confinement. Some hail the decision; others, including corrections officers, object, saying that solitary confinement is necessary to maintain control, and they say that keeping an individual in solitary confinement is not inhumane.
Tell that, though, to innocent people in prison, wrongly convicted, who find themselves in solitary confinement without hope of ever getting out.
This weekend marks the third anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. It is the second anniversary of the Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath, organized by Faiths United Against Gun Violence, which invites religious communities across the country to engage in prayer, advocacy and witness against the epidemic of gun violence, which claims 30,000 lives a year in America.
The best gift in Santa’s pack or under the tree as far as I am concerned is a good book. Or several, even better.
This time of year, every publisher and book site on the Internet has its own “best of” list, including reviews to check out, excerpts to read and information on ordering it online.
For what it’s worth, here are some of my favorite books I read this year in case it might help you with your lists.
For fiction readers:
He's trending in Amsterdam, Paris, and Washington, D.C. And he's Canada's new Prime Minister. So what are the P.M.'s priorities for Canada -- and for you? Hear from Green Party leader, Elizabeth May and veteran Liberal MP John McKay.
LORNA'S WRAP
My heart is very heavy tonight. The loss of black life is overwhelming today. Five were shot in Minneapolis at the hands of white supremacists last night.
World Relief, which calls itself the "biggest evangelical refugee resettlement agency in America" is urging political leaders around the country -- many of whom consistently court evangelical votes -- to support the resettling of Syrian refugees in this country. Politico.com quotes World Relief's vice president Jenny Yang who says that talk of shutting such refugees out "does not reflect what we've been hearing from our constituencies, which are evangelical churches across the country."
Jim Wallis is the president and founder of Sojourners. His most recent book is The (Un)common Good: How the Gospel Brings Hope to a World Divided (Brazos).
In this episode, Jim and Matt discuss Jim’s childhood and conservative background, the impact of radical student politics on his faith, and preaching at Davos. They also touch on how mainline Protestants, evangelicals, and Catholics can all learn from one another while practicing activism as a form of proclamation.
Use the player below to listen.
Capitalism has been overdone, increasing wealth and power in the pockets of only a few. At the same time, poverty has been growing. Is that moral? Is that “do unto others?”
The cry we hear so much is that capitalism’s free markets lead to a free society. That has not been the result for people on the lower poverty rungs.
Jim Wallis has denounced a recent federal court decision that prevents, for now, the implementation of President Barack Obama's immigration reform agenda.
A three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Monday against a federal program that would have granted an estimated 5 million undocumented immigrants legal status.
Wallis, who is the founder and president of the Evangelical social justice group Sojourners, said in a statement Tuesday that the panel majority "put politics over people."
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Nov. 9 against the Obama administration’s attempt to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.
President Obama created the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs by executive action in 2014.
Chum’s Annual Fall Community Assembly was held Tuesday at the Glen Avon Presbyterian Church. The event featured "The Uncommon Tour", which focuses on the connection between faith, poverty, and racial equality.
“There’s also part of Duluth of people who are left out of the great stuff that Duluth has to offer so the question we have to ask and that we will be asking over the weekend, is how do we make a better Duluth for everyone?” said Lisa Sharon Harper, the Keynote Speaker of the Uncommon Assembly.
*Note: President Tim Wolfe resigned as president of the University of Missouri on November 9, 2015
Uncommon Tour at Glen Avon
CHUM's Annual Fall Community Assembly will features Sojourners Ministries' Uncommon Tour on Nov. 10 and 11, at Glen Avon Presbyterian Church, 2105 Woodland Ave.
The "Uncommon Tour" is a speaking tour on the subjects of faith, poverty and racial equality. Participants will have the opportunity to join Sojourners' and CHUM's ongoing advocacy work.
When it comes to institutions aligned with evangelical progressivism it is not as easy to say “there it is” but when it comes to people, one can point directly at Jim Wallis. While I’m not convinced many Christians who seek to influence the state have an explicit teleology, an activist commitment to influence forms the heart of both the evangelical right and evangelical left. (By teleology I mean to ask this question: What will happen if they “win” the influence? Will it turn into a kind of Constantinianism?
